A FATHER and son who left their guard dog living in squalor have been banned from owning dogs.

Javid Akhtar, 54, and his son Kamran Akhtar, 25, allowed their guard dog, a German Shepherd called Hero, to live in an area which measured 6ft by 4ft.

It contained a mattress with its springs exposed, leaving little room for Hero to move around, along with old and new faeces.

The duo appeared before Huddersfield Magistrates’ Court yesterday where they were found guilty.

Their tenant, John Swift, 53, of Filbert Street, where the dog was kept, had the same charge against him dismissed and he accepted a caution.

Javid Akhtar, a retired businessman, told the court he was unable to visit the dog, which lived at their tenant’s property in Birkby, frequently after October 2008 because he has been stabbed seven times during a vicious attack at his Edgerton Green home.

Hero, who has been with the family for two years since he was a puppy, was used a guard dog at the family’s property on Filbert Street.

But Balbir Uppal, chair of the bench, said they had been naive.

The father and son were found guilty of failing to meet the needs of the dog by providing it with a suitable, clean and non-hazardous environment leading up to January 8 this year.

Prosecutor Andrew Davidson said: “The concerns of the RSPCA inspector were about a lack of bedding , failing to clean up faeces and leaving a hazardous object in the area”.

Insp Susie Micallef of the RSPCA first saw Hero in October 2007 after being tipped off and gave Kamran Akhtar a checklist of work needed to be done. He, his father and the tenant of the property carried those activities out and cleaned the alleyway of faeces.

But on further visits she found they had not maintained the environment.

The family moved Hero to a yard behind the house, where he was given a kennel and tied on a leash, which she did not consider to be long enough.

She told Kamran Akhtar that if he failed to make further improvements the dog could be taken away and they could face court proceedings.

In January this year she visited unannounced, confiscated Hero and took him to Donaldson and Partners vets in Huddersfield where vet Martin Patterson said he was in a good, healthy condition.

The Akhtars represented themselves in court and showed vets receipts which they said showed they cared about the well-being of Hero.

Javid Akhtar, a father of six, said: “I loved that dog like a member of my family. Kamran Akhtar added: “I have always made sure he had food and biscuits. Hero was not neglected.”

Magistrates fined both of the defendants £500, banned them from having Hero back and from keeping another dog for five years.